Summer 16 Recruitment.

[Ivorguy]

20 hours ago, Nomad said:

Much credit has been given on here to LJ and MA for a great summer recruitment campaign but when you compare the back end of last season and now, what has really changed?

As Tomlin and Matthews were here last season lets ignore them as they maintain the status quo. I'd also say the sale of JK and the incoming loan of TA as roughly balancing themselves out.

So, other than that?.... I'd have expected the other incoming players to have improved us but we seem not to have advanced. It looks to me that although we (thanks SL) spent quite a bit of money we have added just one regular in Magnusson. He's been a great addition and I think more accomplished than Baker whom he replaced.

But did we really buy Patterson, O'Dowda, Moore and Engvall for the future? Moore I accept but would like to see given more play time of after his impressive Hull game. The fact that none of them have managed to dislodge a regular is worrying. If we work on the premise that incoming players should improve us did we really get it right?

The back end of last season saw a quite settled side with Pack and Reid regulars in the starting line up. I'm fully behind LJ but for me not having a generally settled side is doing us no favours. Do any successful teams make so many changes in tactics and personnel week in week out? I say no. Find the best 11 and barring injuries, form and suspensions stick to it. Rather than advancing us I think the recruitment (good as it appears on paper) has just caused issues in tactics and starting line up (midfield in particular).

Spot on.

I am beginning to think that our optimism with summer transfers has been called into question by the absence of O'Dowda, Engvall, Patterson, and Brownhill.  

This worries me for the forthcoming window if the argument was we were buying for the future in the summer; this simply won't cut the custard in January. We need to strengthen for the now because if not there might be no future at this level.

Seems all too familiar to us older fans.  We only splash the cash on the down slopes seldom on the up. So here we go again, but in my opinion we have no choice; we need to stabilise at mid level security and then rethink in the summer.

Personally think we still need a clearout, even of newish arrivals.

[Tipps69]

1 hour ago, Ivorguy said:

Spot on.

I am beginning to think that our optimism with summer transfers has been called into question by the absence of O'Dowda, Engvall, Patterson, and Brownhill.  

This worries me for the forthcoming window if the argument was we were buying for the future in the summer; this simply won't cut the custard in January. We need to strengthen for the now because if not there might be no future at this level.

Seems all too familiar to us older fans.  We only splash the cash on the down slopes seldom on the up. So here we go again, but in my opinion we have no choice; we need to stabilise at mid level security and then rethink in the summer.

Personally think we still need a clearout, even of newish arrivals.

I think part of the problem is that while the recruitment increased the quality of the squad in general, the level of the individuals are all fairly equal, there are no real stand out talent (excusing TA & LT on their day) but the likes of CO'D, JB  & JP have joined similar standard players as KS, MP, LF & BR so it means LJ has no clear idea of who is in his best eleven & when one makes a mistake or has a drop in form he feels the need to replace them with someone who is very similar, there is no replacing with a better quality player, just someone who is similar to what we already have. So while the squad has improved in general, the starting eleven hasn't as drastically.

It's the same throughout the team, FF or RO'D in goal?

ML or AM at right-back?

JB or SG at left-back?

You get the idea, everyone will have different opinions on who could or should play where because everyone's competitor for a position is very similar to the other.